[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 162 (Monday, August 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51806-51807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20838]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9192-2; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0701]
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four Case Studies of
Water Utility Practices
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft
document titled, ``Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four Case
Studies of Water Utility Practices'' (EPA/600/R-10/077a). The document
was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment within
EPA's Office of Research and Development.
This draft report presents a series of case studies describing the
approaches currently being taken by four water utilities to assess
their vulnerability to future climate change. The report is intended to
illustrate the types of analyses, models, and climate change
information being developed and used by selected utilities that are
leaders in climate adaptation to understand and respond to climate
risk.
The public comment period and the external peer-review workshop,
which will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the Federal
Register, are separate processes that provide opportunities for all
interested parties to comment on the document. EPA intends to forward
the public comments that are submitted in accordance with this notice
to the external peer-review panel prior to the meeting for their
consideration. When finalizing the draft document, EPA intends to
consider any public comments that EPA receives in accordance with this
notice.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination.
The draft document and EPA's peer-review charge are available via
the Internet on the NCEA home page under the Recent Additions and the
Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea.
DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins August 23, 2010, and
ends October 7, 2010. Technical comments should be in writing and must
be received by EPA by October 7, 2010.
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four
Case Studies of Water Utility Practices'' is available primarily via
the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessments home
page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at
http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available
from the Information Management Team, NCEA; telephone: 703-347-8561;
facsimile: 703-347-8691. If you are requesting a paper copy, please
provide your name, your mailing address, and the document title,
``Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Four Case Studies of Water
Utility Practices.'' The EPA's National Service Center for
Environmental Publications (NSCEP), P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, OH
45242; telephone: 1-800-490-9198; facsimile: 301-604-3408; e-mail:
lmit.com">nscep@bps-lmit.com. Please provide your name, your mailing address, the
title, and the EPA number of the requested publication.
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
For technical information, contact Thomas Johnson, NCEA; telephone:
703-347-8618; facsimile: 703-347-8694; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project/Document
This report presents a series of case studies describing the
approaches currently being taken by four water utilities in the United
States to assess their vulnerability to climate change. The report is
not intended to be a comprehensive listing of assessment approaches or
utilities conducting vulnerability assessments. Rather, its purpose is
to illustrate a range of issues and current approaches taken by
selected utilities that are leaders in climate adaptation to understand
and respond to climate risk. The approaches taken by the different
utilities to assess their vulnerability to climate change range from
sophisticated environmental modeling and scenario analysis to
qualitative methods based on reviews of available literature. The case
studies illustrate different approaches that reflect specific local
needs and conditions, existing vulnerabilities, local partnerships, and
available information about climate change. Information from these case
studies will be of use to water utilities and other members of the
water resources community to inform the development of strategies for
understanding and responding to climate change. The issue of climate
change is complex and will require ongoing attention and study.
II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2010-
0701, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-1753.
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center's Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original
and three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2010-0701. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to
[[Page 51807]]
make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided, unless a comment includes
information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or
other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not
submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected
through http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, which
means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you
provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment
directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your
e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of
the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on
the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that
you include your name and other contact information in the body of your
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: August 13, 2010.
David Bussard,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-20838 Filed 8-20-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P